Only Human
by Enula
Summary: April was just beginning to accept her feelings for Donnie (no thanks to Irma) when the Kraang attack the turtles' lair head on and use Donnie to finally capture her. Secrets from April's past, such as who and what her mother is, is exposed, and both Donnie and April realize that they will never be the one thing they truly want to be: human. Apritello
1. Nomarugen

**.**

**Only Human**

**I.**

It all started when she wanted a new picture of him.

The one she currently had on her T-phone was great—it was even personalized with flowers and a little bow. But it was time to archive it and get another one for his caller ID.

Turning on the camera, she held up the phone. He was busy working on one of his experiments and wasn't paying any attention to her. She zoomed in just a little bit. Like almost any other time he was in the zone, his tongue poked out the left side of his mouth and it took her a lot of willpower to hold back a laugh. His auburn eyes were narrowed in concentration but bright with enthusiasm.

She snapped the picture.

The click caught his attention, his eyes blinking up to the girl sitting at his lab table.

"Did you just take a picture of me?"

"Sure did!" April answered brightly, lowering the phone so she could begin customizing this new photo, "I needed a picture of _Donny Boy _in his natural habitat."

A red tint lit up Donnie's cheeks, "You can take another one if you want. A _better _one! I'll get prepared for it so—."

"No, I'm good," April cut him off, "I prefer this one." She turned the phone around to briefly flash his picture to him. He was able to see it for a quick second before she took it back like she was afraid he would grab it and delete it.

Donnie momentarily wondered if he should simply snatch the phone from her. Not because he wanted to delete the picture, nor to prove that he could. Mostly just to flirt with her. He imagined himself holding the phone above his head as April jumped in front of him, trying her hardest to get the phone back.

His fingers twitched on the dial of his microscope. He was gonna do it…

_I'm gonna do it…!_

"So how's the new batch of retromutagen coming?" April asked suddenly which instantly made all his indecisiveness disappear. He wouldn't take her phone.

"Spectacular!" Donnie answered, looking into the microscopes eye piece, "I think I almost got it again. I just wish it didn't take so long…"

"I'm sure Master Splinter understands," April said absently as she photo-shopped Einstein's hair and Darwin's beard onto Donnie.

Donnie wrote a few notes down as he spoke, "That's the weird thing…sensei keeps telling me to take my time, don't work too hard. It's almost like he's skeptical about becoming human again."

April added little equations to float around Donnie, "Well…it has been—what—seventeen years since he mutated. He probably forgets how it feels to live amongst other humans and out of the sewers."

He didn't respond. April hit on something that had him on edge during the last couple months he'd been slaving away. _Would _Splinter choose to live above ground once he was human again? But that was the whole point in creating the retromutagen, wasn't it? To allow him to _be _human. And humans don't live in sewers.

April lowered her phone when she sensed a hesitation in Donnie. She studied him for a moment, seeing how he was lost in his own thoughts, and knew it had to have something to do with Splinter turning human while he and his brothers had to remain mutant turtles.

She sat up straight and put on a huge smile, "Hey, you wanna hear a joke I heard the other day?"

Blinking away his concerns, his eyes caught hers, "Umm….yeah, sure."

Clearing her throat, she leaned forward, "Okay, here goes. A neutron walks into a bar and asks 'how much for a drink?' The barman replies 'for you, no charge'."

April felt ten times lighter when she saw the instant grin and sparkle in Donnie's eyes as he said, "Good one! I have one: Two scientists—." But before he could finish there was a loud bang on his lab door like someone threw something heavy.

"Casey Jones is in the _hooouuussse!" _

April realized that Casey probably shot a puck at the door to hype his grand entrance. She could practically see Donnie deflate upon Casey's arrival. She considered going out there and greeting him, but over the past few weeks, she'd become more cautious about the way she acts around Casey. Especially when Donnie was around. But even when he wasn't, April still found herself wondering how Donnie would react _if _he was there. She kept forgetting why she started to care so much…

"And his sidekick—Irma Langin—," Casey tried to continue but got caught off from a feminine voice.

"Please, you wish you had a sidekick as awesome as me," Irma filled her tone with sass.

"You could've at least lemmie finish your weird-o name."

_Oh yeah…_that's _why…_

A few weeks ago, April made the mistake of being followed by none other than her female best friend down to the lair. Irma, being fed up with April ditching her and keeping so much of her life a secret, decided to trail April to finally get to the bottom of the long term secrecy.

It took many hours to calm her down when she realized who April's four secret friends were.

Or rather…_what _they were.

But once she accepted them, there was no keeping her away. She loved that Leo loved _Space Heroes, _she enjoyed listening to Raph's insulting attitude, she marveled over Ice Cream Kitty with Mikey, and (worst of all?) she bonded with Donnie over science.

April had to wonder if Irma was the perfect friend for the turtles or if it was just her desirousness that was seeing it that way. Her initial jealousy was strange, because she was sure it was only due to the fact that she would no longer be the only girl in the group. Being aware that this was a dumb and immature reason to be jealous, April tried to ignore it and invite Irma every time she planned on heading down to the sewers.

"April here?" Casey asked from outside the lab, snapping April from her thoughts.

"She's been locked away with Donnie for hours," Leo said dismissively. His show must be on.

April slapped her forehead with her open palm. Did he have to put it like that?

Not a moment later, the door burst open as Casey presented himself, "Lady and…turtle…I present—."

"Enough!" Irma interrupted him again, rolling her eyes as she walked into the lab as well, "April, I seriously have no idea how you put up with him."

"How come Donnie gets all the humans?" they all heard Mikey say from the couch.

"Hey, Irma. I have something for you," Donnie said as he backed away from the microscope and went over to one of his shelves.

"You do?" April asked before she could stop herself.

Everyone seemed to ignore the question.

"Awesome sauce. I knew you would," Irma grinned as she placed a hand on her hip with the other hand held out waiting to receive her present.

Donnie placed a T-phone in her hand, "As promised."

April stood up chuckling mirthlessly, "Uh, just out of curiosity, why does Irma need a T-phone?"

"It's not really about _needing," _Irma said, fiddling with her new toy, "It's more about _wanting. _Plus…free cell phone with unlimited minutes. Can't beat that. Thanks, Donatello."

April narrowed her eyes. Something about the way she used the turtles' full names…

Casey suddenly put his arm around her shoulders, "Hey, why didn't ya let me know you were comin' down here? You know I woulda joined."

"I, uh…" April glanced over at Donnie and happened to catch him glancing away from her, "I thought you had practice after school today. Sorry."

"I did, but that's besides the point," Casey said, even though it didn't really make sense to April.

"You should test your retromutagen on this dumbass over here," Irma nodded towards Casey, "I want to see what his original form looks like."

"I wouldn't waste something I've been working on this hard on Casey," Donnie said matter of factly, and jumped when Irma laughed.

"Nice! I wouldn't waste anything on him either."

Casey clenched his fists, "You little—."

"Okay, that's enough," April stepped in, putting her hands out. She had no idea why her two human best friends always bickered so much, "Donnie's been working really hard and probably doesn't want to hear all this in his lab."

"True," Irma replied before going over to Donnie's microscope and looking into the eye piece, "Strange how some cells are reforming and others aren't."

Donnie slapped his hands on his notes, "Exactly what I was thinking! When I made the first batch, all the cells seemed to reform almost immediately after I added Ap—the appropriate DNA to the mutagen formula."

April noticed how Donnie almost slipped. Irma still had no idea that April was part…_not human…_and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Hm…maybe not the right combination of DNA and mutagen? How much mutagen did you use the first time around?" Irma asked.

"I know I used the same," Donnie replied confidently, "That's not the problem. Something is different from the first time I did this…"

April watched the two scientists try to come to a solution. She studied Donnie with the utmost intensity. Was he enjoying this? Did he love talking to someone else who knew what he was actually talking about? And if so, how deep did that love go? After all, Irma was the only other female he knew and she showed more interest in him in two weeks than April showed him in the two years she knew him.

But Donnie was always one to wear his heart on his sleeve, so to speak. And from what she could tell, Donnie was showing no romantic interest in Irma. Which only made her wonder _why._

And more importantly, it made her wonder why she felt relieved by this. It made her wonder why she started craving more alone time with Donnie. It made her wonder why she never saw how rounded Donnie was with his talents and skills. He may not be as physically strong as Leo or Raph, but he had the ability to beat them if he really put his mind to it (she's seen him do it!). And at the end of the day, it seemed like Donnie was always the one that saved everyone by using his machinery skills to create or unwire something.

It made her wonder why the heck she chose to ignore all this before.

"I'm gonna go wrastle Raph out of his shell," Casey abruptly announced after hearing enough of all the science chit-chat.

April watched him leave the lab. And most importantly, it made her wonder why she ever considered dating Casey. Which is not meant to be an insult to him! Well…not really, anyway. It's not like Casey was without his charms. He was unnaturally strong for being just a high school kid who played hockey. And he did accept the turtles fairly quickly, which made April realize that he was a really good person.

But she wasn't sure if they would be intellectually compatible. Sure, he knew how to make homemade bombs; he made a lot of his vigilante weapons out of the mix. And he was passionate about hockey and doing what was right, but…

She turned her attention back to Irma and Donnie. And she realized that…even though Irma was also a science nerd…no one would ever be able to reach Donnie's genius. Well…maybe. But it would be hard to match. Everything just came so naturally to him that it was more shocking when he didn't know something versus when he did.

"You okay, April?" Irma asked. The question made April blink rapidly and Donnie look up from his notes.

Upon having the focus on her, April tried to look relaxed. It was only then that she realized she had been gripping the edge of the table and gritting her teeth.

But before she could respond, Leo's voice came lingering in from the living area, "New episode of _Space Heroes _is about to start!"

Irma clenched her fists and looked like she was both excited and upset, "Oh, _why _do I have to love that show so much! We'll talk about the mutagen later, Donatello. I have to go fangirl with Leonardo."

And just like that, April and Donnie were the only two in his lab again. April sat down. All those confusing, bitter, and strange feelings left her just as quickly as Irma left the room.

"So, uh…everything okay?" Donnie asked, swirling his pencil around his fingers skillfully.

April couldn't help but watch him do it. Were his hands always that impressive? Her eyes averted to his hand that was simply resting at his side. Three fingers. Green fingers. Flippers? Fins? She remembered how rough they were from the last time she grabbed his hand. He had calluses from years of training. It didn't exactly feel human, but…

"April," hearing him say her name snapped her out of her thoughts. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but more concerned, "Anything you wanna talk about?"

Donnie had been trying to ignore the fact that she'd been studying him. When he first started to notice the difference in her, he was exhilarated. She was finally taking more of an interest in him and it was only a matter of time before…before…

But then his mind started working against him. What if she _had _considered taking an interest, but then started to examine him…truly examine him…and after seeing how completely weird and different he was from her and other humans, decided to throw the idea into a pile of useless junk?

"No…no, I'm good. I just…" April wished she would have left out those last two words. Couldn't she just drop it? She wiped a bang out of her eyes, "I'm…I'm getting hungry."

Donnie stopped spinning the pencil, "Oh…yeah, I guess we did work through dinner."

"Pizza gyoza?" she asked before she could think.

He immediately felt his mouth water, "Mmm, sounds delicious. Should we go after _Space Heroes _ends?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, suddenly finding her nails fascinating, "I don't plan on watching. We could go now."

"I don't think Leo and—."

"You and me. We can go now."

Donnie blinked, "And bring it back here to…?"

"We could bring some back after we eat our own…" April looked around the lab before focusing her eyes on his. He looked completely dumbstruck which only made her smile, "Yes?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Donnie yelled a bit too enthusiastically. He quickly realized his error clearing his throat as he calmed himself, "I mean…yeah, sounds great."

"Great! Let me just go grab my bag," Donnie watched her leave, his heart pounding in his ears. _Did she just ask me out to dinner? Like a date?_

_Date _might have been getting carried away, but a turtle could dream. He looked over at all his work he would be putting on hold for a few hours. He shot a quick glance to one of his cabinets at the far end of the lab. The cabinet that held Splinter's completed retromutagen.

Because, unbeknownst to everyone, Donnie had finished it a few months ago. However, he came across another chemical reaction when he was working on it. Something that looked like it not only unmutated, but antimutated. With the appropriate amount of April's DNA, it seemed to inactivate the mutagen as well as cause the mutated cells to regenerate into normal human cells.

In other words, he was on the brink of discovering nomarugen, as he so named it. _Normal Genetics. _A gene that would multiply the human cells in him and make him _human._

He didn't want to get the others involved quite yet for his own reasons. Mostly because he didn't want to get his own hopes up. If he hyped up something that could possibly be, but then it falls short, it would be double the disappointment.

And he wasn't sure if he would get lectured about accepting what he is…what he _always _will be.

But in the meantime, they all suspected he was working on a retromutagen and they all seemed just fine with that.

It was time to go have dinner with April.

o

o

o

This is my first TMNT story; just wanted to say real quick that I'm by far a TMNT expert, though I'm doing tons of research to help with this unfortunate problem. Anyway, despite what this story may look like so far, this is not a story about how Donnie creates something that allows him to become human. Far from it actually. It's just the idea that leads into everything else.

Also, the reason I added Irma in was because I'm aware that she was closest to Donatello in the original 1987 version. It made me wonder what they have planned for her when she finally meets the turtles in the 2012 version (assuming that they go this route).

I also can't wait to get into the theory I have with April's mother. This is the ultimate reason I started this story. BUT I couldn't dismiss my love for Apritello along the way, so I'll have plenty of that available.

Please let me know what you think so far! This is my 40th story (under this pen name anyway) and I feel like celebrating!

_-Enula_


	2. Trouble

**.**

**Only Human**

**II.**

The two somehow managed to sneak away without anyone else realizing. Thank God for distractions only television shows can create.

"We're not going to set off any of your alarms, are we?" April asked once they were making their way through an underground tunnel.

"Nah," Donnie waved her worry off, "And besides, even if we did, they'd all probably think it was part of the show."

April gave him a worried glance, "That's not safe…"

"Good point," he jumped on the nearest ladder and climbed up, slowly removing the manhole cover to scan the area. Immediately, he was hit with the strong smell of New York but still mingled with a freshness that the sewers did not provide. "Coast is clear," he slid the manhole cover over and jumped out. He reached down for her hand out of instinct, though every time she disregarded it as if she didn't even see it.

But to his surprise, he felt her tiny fingers slip into his palm as she made her way out of the sewer. When she stood beside him, she must have recognized that he was shocked; she let out a short laugh, "Can't let chivalry die completely, can we?"

Donnie felt himself blush, "A-actually…chivalry describes qualities that a knight is supposed to have…it's a code they take to help the weak. I'm not a knight….and you're not—," Donnie trailed off when he saw April giving him _the look._

"Too literal, Donnie," she said, though there was a teasing tone in her voice.

With her hand still in his, she walked around him to lead him toward Mr. Murakami's restaurant. They were glad to see that no one was currently inside so they didn't have to wait.

"Hi, Mr. Murakami!" April chimed as she walked in with Donnie, the two taking a seat at the bar.

"Good evening, Murakami-san," Donnie greeted.

"April! Donnie!" Murakami exclaimed excitedly, his smile stretching his face, wrinkled lines shooting out from behind his dark glasses, "Is it just the two of you tonight?"

"Yep! The other guys are busy so Donnie and I decided to grab dinner," April said it so nonchalantly that Donnie began doubting this outing meant anything at all. It was something that kept running in the back of his mind and he couldn't seem to shake it.

"Ah," Murakami turned on the heat on his stove and began mixing the ingredients to make his famous pizza gyoza, "Alone time. Something very underappreciated, but still very much needed."

"I, uh—," April began. Donnie had been staring down at the table in front of him, almost too embarrassed to even bother looking up, but he glanced over to April when he heard her stutter. To his surprise, a light blush lit up her cheeks and it somehow made her blue eyes stand out more than usual.

He grabbed a pair of chopsticks from a cup on the counter. Taking them out of the wrapper, he began twirling them around his fingers. Since he had none of his science equipment in front of him, nor did the current moment require any science talk, he had to find something that calmed his nerves. Chopsticks helped. A little.

April watched him for a few minutes, again mesmerized by his little trick. Determined to do it as well (a sudden urge really), she plucked out another pair of chopsticks to give it a go. She smiled when she noticed Donnie's eyes studying her hand now.

Only to see it fail. April thought it would be simple enough to glide the sticks over and under her fingers, but it turned out to be much trickier than that.

The stove sizzled as the gyozas were thrown on the heat.

"Watch," Donnie said, turning his seat toward her. He held out his hand with the chopsticks in his palm. Then, to April, it seemed like he just twitched his one finger before the chopsticks began swirling around all his fingers in a faster motion than April could see.

April held out her hand with the chopsticks. She tried to grab them with her finger in a flipping motion but just ended up accidentally throwing them across the restaurant.

She chuckled when the chopsticks clattered to the floor and Murakami turned around slightly to see what the racket was about. She bit her bottom lip gently and ducked her head in embarrassment, "Oops…"

Her last gesture was the…cutest thing Donnie had ever seen. Did _cute _really describe it correctly?

"It takes a little practice…I've been doing it all my life. Here," He grabbed another pair of chopsticks and handed them to her, "Position your finger about a third of an inch up from the bottom," he watched her do it, "Okay, now take your other finger and place it about half way down…then put your thumb between…" April's hand suddenly looked awkward and clumsy.

He put his own chopsticks down and reached for her hand, but stopped just short of touching her, "U-umm…can I assist?"

She nodded, never once looking away from her hand. She jumped when Donnie's fingers touched hers, but if he noticed he didn't act like it. She watched as he fiddled with the placement of her fingers before he laughed softly, "Sorry, I'm not used to working with…human hands and…uhh…but I think this is how you would twirl: kick it with your middle finger while pulling your pointer away and…" April did as she was told and was surprised when the sticks actually spun.

Her mouth dropped open in a huge smile, "I think I'm more excited about this than I should be…"

"How is learning ever _not _exciting?" Donnie exclaimed a bit too loudly, his hand going up to rub the back of his head.

"Dork alert," she said quietly but with a smirk that reached to her eyes brilliantly that caused Donnie to blush again.

"Pizza gyoza for the chopstick duo," Murakami said as he slid one long wooden plate aligned with gyoza in front of the two, "Enjoy!"

They began eating right away, not realizing how hungry they were until they tasted the wonderful blend of two very different types of food.

After April had her fourth one, she began considering what made her want to have dinner with just Donnie in the first place. It was to get him away from Irma. It was strange, and maybe slightly neurotic, but it was true. To think that Irma could very easily be sharing this exact moment with Donnie made her blood fill with envy and her knees shake and…why was she getting this worked up over a thought? It _wasn't _Irma who was with him, it was…

"Can I ask you a question, Donnie?" she asked suddenly and she instantly wished she could take it back because she really didn't want to ask anything.

He was about to take a bite of his ninth gyoza, but stopped before his teeth could reach it. He lowered it to the wooden board and blinked at the girl sitting beside him. She sounded so serious that he was fearful she was sensing Kraang somewhere nearby.

"Should we run away?" he asked, thinking that they should lead the enemy away from Murakami.

April's eyes widened at the suggestion, "Umm…I think the guys would eventually come looking for us…"

"Well, only if we…wait, what?" Donnie raised an eyebrow because the concern sounded completely absurd.

As if a flash of realization just smacked her in the face, April looked down at their food to hide the redness she felt creeping up her neck and to her face. _Did I really just think he meant __**run away together?!**_

"Sorry, no…there's no danger, this has nothing to do with that," April quickly explained, desperate to move on. But then she recognized that her real question wasn't going to help matters any.

She mentally kicked herself.

"What is it, April?" Hearing the worry in his voice made her both calm and rigid, "You've been acting different for the last few weeks. Is there—."

"Do you—." She almost let it out but stopped short when Donnie's T-phone chimed, indicating he had a text message.

"Sorry, hold on. Gotta make sure it's not an emergency," he grabbed his phone and checked the screen, "Text from Irma. She wants to know where we went."

April felt her palms become sweaty and it was hard to hold onto her chopsticks. _Why didn't she text _me? _Was it really necessary to—_

"I think I should answer so they all don't assume we're in tr—," he started slowly, April's continued strangeness not going unnoticed by him.

"Tell her 'dinner and a movie'," April suggested as she ate another gyoza wishing she could actually enjoy it.

"…and a movie?" Donnie repeated, staring at her like he heard wrong. But when she made no attempt at correcting him, he found himself shakily typing in exactly what she said. After he sent it, he tapped his fingers on the counter, "April, I…I would _love _to see a movie with you, but I don't think I'd be able to get in a theater…"

She shook her head, "I have a movie I've been meaning to show you. I think you'll really love it."

"What movie?"

Smiling, she shook her head and leaned in closer, "It's a surprise."

He jumped when his phone chimed again. April rolled her eyes, "What she say now?"

He read it slowly, "We'll keep Pansy Bones occupied."

April turned in his chair quickly, "She really just said that?"

"Yeee-ep," Donnie showed her his screen to prove it.

Her eyes skimmed over the words. Did Irma really just…is she helping them to…

And suddenly, April felt completely foolish and selfish at letting herself believe that Irma was in the way of taking her mutant friends away from her. If anything, she should've been grateful. The turtles welcomed Irma with open arms and she was able to effortlessly get along with all of them. Her friends were friends with her best friend.

Unlike Casey. April liked Casey…he was fun to be around, but he was always insulting Irma and calling her _the third wheel. _That was _exactly _why April never felt the desire to go further with Casey. She knew Irma _much _longer than Casey and for Casey to all of a sudden come bounding into her life and demand that Irma not hang out with them was…was rude, to say the least.

But April knew she wasn't any better. She let being a _superhero _with the guys get to her head. She even found herself fangirling her and the guys into _Avengers _themes (Ironman=Donnie, Hulk=Raph, Thor=Leo, Captain America=Mikey, Hawkeye=Casey, and Black Widow=April). But the reality of it was…just because they were constantly saving the city (and the world) didn't mean she should be ditching her friend that was around before she became anything special. Back when she was just a nerdy human with braces and glasses.

"April?" Donnie asked, realizing she had zoned out again.

"Do you like Irma?" April finally asked her original question.

Donnie answered as if it was a technical question: "Of course! Any human that can accept four mutant turtles and a giant rat is A-OK in my book…" then his impractical side kicked in and he waved his hands quickly in front of him, "But I don't like her _like that! _I mean, she's a good friend…but not as good as _you! _Not saying she's not good, just—."

April put her hand on his, laughing at the way his mind worked when nervous, "Donnie, it's okay. I'm glad you like her. She's my best friend…I mean, best _human _friend—er, best female friend," April sighed when she realized she was rambling exactly like Donnie just did," You two are my best friends."

She watched as his eyes softened and he shook his head slightly in the _you're flattering me in an embarrassing way but I like it _way. They looked like the warmest chocolates and it mesmerized her as she leaned in for a better look. He tried to make eye contact with her but his nervousness prevented him from doing so.

"Would you two like a doggie bag?" Murakami said, breaking them from their pleasantly awkward moment.

"Yes, thank you," April smiled as the restaurant owner packed up their leftovers. She turned back to Donnie, "A snack for the movie. Ready?"

He nodded. They paid and left. When they stepped outside, they both noticed the change in the air. Crisp and windy, it felt like a spring storm was on its way.

"Your place?" Donnie asked with such genuine innocence that it made April tuck her hair behind her ear shyly.

She nodded, "Rooftops?"

Without a word, Donnie reached behind him and grabbed his Bo. Of course, he twirled it around a hundred times easy in the span of a few seconds before he stopped it and turned around. He kneeled down for her to climb onto his shell.

"Showoff," April commented teasingly. She climbed up, grabbing onto his shoulders as she felt his Bo swing down underneath her for extra support.

"Really? Out of all the things I do, and you think _that _was me showing off?" He asked as he sprung his strong legs upward to jump from the lowest rooftop to the highest.

"Donnie! Are you bragging?" She smirked, acting like jumping from roof to roof on a turtle's back was anything but abnormal.

"Meh," was his only reply as he ran with speed April didn't know existed before she met him, and she couldn't help but enjoy the free-spirited thrill of it.

Donnie felt like this was almost too good to be true. Surely the Kraang, the Foot, or Karai would show up at any second to ruin everything. How were they getting away with this? Was the universe really working in their favor right now? Of course…_working in their favor _was maybe being too optimistic. After all, how far did he think this night was going to go? He was a mutant and she was…well, a mutant as well, but a mutant human. Normal physically. He was a turtle. How in the hell would the universe ever work in their favor?!

And he suddenly had the urge to tell her about what he was really working on. Maybe seeing her excitement at the prospect of him being human for her would be the extra push he needed to complete the antimutagen. But then again…would she find it strange that he was inventing it for _her? To be with her?_

It was getting hard not knowing how she felt about him and…and he wondered if he would even still pursue the creation of antimutagen if she didn't want to be with him. Would it be worth it still?

"We're here," April said, her voice so close to him that he found himself gripping his Bo tighter than usual, "I'm gonna go in the front to let my dad know I'm back. Wait for me at my bedroom window."

Donnie dropped to the ground, letting April slide off his shell. She smiled at him as she went toward the apartment entrance, "See you in a minute."

It was strange. How his heart started pounding at the thought of seeing her again even though he just dropped her off. He jumped up to her balcony. He almost felt a little bad sneaking behind Kirby's back just to watch a movie with April. After all, he doubted her dad would be thrilled to have the two of them in her room together. Alone.

Donnie blushed, crouching down on the railing to hide in the shadows. He was going to be alone with April. In her bedroom. _In. Her.—_

The window clicked and opened to reveal a smiling April. She whispered, "Okay, come on in."

Donnie silently made his way inside the darkened room.

"We'll watch it on my iPad," she said, turning on her lamp and getting her device from her bedside drawer. She kicked her shoes off and sat against her headboard, untangling her earphones.

When she noticed that he wasn't moving from his spot by the window, she patted the spot next to her as she continued whispering, "We have to share the earphones."

Donnie hated himself for almost fleeing. _This is a dream…this is a dream!_

But he managed to find the courage to walk over to her bed and sit next to her, his body as rigid as a board. He took the right earpiece that she handed him. She put the left one in her ear and then clicked off the lamp.

"My dad won't worry about checking on me if my light's out," April explained though Donnie didn't ask.

"Okay, so…" Donnie put his earpiece in, "What are we watching?"

"A masterpiece," April smiled as she held the portable player in front of them, "It's called _Donnie Darko_."

He glanced over at her, "What now?"

She shook her head, scooting just a little closer to him, "Just watch."

* * *

As the movie ended, and "Mad World" played through its montage and Gretchen and Rose waved, April glanced over at Donnie. She noticed that he was entranced the whole movie, as she imagined he would be. She took out her earpiece and, gently as if not to startle him, she took out his.

In a soft whisper, she asked, "Did you like it?"

"That was—," he said it in a normal voice but stopped when April delicately _ssshhh_'ed him. He lowered his voice, "That was a brilliant film. I mean, if anyone was to create something to show how we all fight with our inner demons to finally accept what we have no control over…it's this."

She smiled, "You really got that the first time through?"

Donnie nodded, "Time travel has always been something I've been interested in and…did I ever tell you that?" April shook her head, "I don't like to bring it up much…my brother's made fun of me about it before. It…it enables the traveler to fix mistakes they did in the past. Donnie was able to help so many people by sacrificing himself. After he realized that he wasn't going to die alone…"

April's eyes shined at Donnie's passion, "So you don't think it was just Donnie's dream?"

Donnie looked at his hands, "Even if it was…it helped him appreciate what was necessary to accept what was inevitable…"

April felt her heart speeding up. Something about the way he avidly spoke about the film…she knew she was that way when seeing a new movie as well. Even if the movie was a ridiculous robot vs. zombie film.

She made a mental note to change Donnie's name in her phone to "My Donnie Darko" later on.

The rain sprinkled against her window. Her iPad screen was the only light source. And she leaned over and kissed his cheek before she could second guess herself.

She felt him go rigid again and hold his breath. She realized she was lingering. Over the course of knowing him, she had gotten used the feel of her lips on his cheek, but only in passing. She usually only did it when she was excited and nervous. He so often impressed her that her impulse to show him how wonderful he was often took over. But this time…she wanted to let it sink in.

"April?" his voice cracked into the silence which made her _ssshhhh _him again. But it was different this time. Her lips were still against him and the hush that flew to his ear and through his body made him clench his hands and close his eyes.

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting," April said which caused him to open his dark eyes and glance over to her, "You've been asking me if something's wrong and…something's…not…" she looked up into his eyes and saw his irises shaking like even his soul was flaunting his insecurity.

Then she felt her own uncertainty ricochet though her body and it burned her mind as it rang painfully. She grabbed her forehead and it was only then she realized that she was sensing something. Something _powerful _and…and so very _wrong._

She groaned in pain as the feeling blinded her.

Both of their T-phones chimed.

Donnie quickly stood up and checked his phone, knowing very well that whatever it said would be the same message April got.

His pupils dilated at the large word sent by Leo.

"TROUBLE"

o

o

o

o

o

A/N: First off, I wanted to thank all of you that reviewed/favorited/followed my story! They definitely keep me motivated. And this chapter turned into a bigger fluff chapter than I originally planned, but once I started, I couldn't stop. Secondly, wanted to throw a disclaimer out there. I own nothing of _Donne Darko _though a girl can dream. There's so many different interpretations for this film that I am in no way claiming that what Donnie said is the one true deconstruction. I feel the need to say this because I've gotten into arguments before over this. However, if you'd like to discuss it with me, please PM me. I will gladly and willingly do it. Adding the movie in here wasn't just because it's my favorite movie. It's foreshadowing, to say the least (no, nothing that tragic).

Again, thank you for reading! Starting chapter 3 real soon.

~Enula


	3. Deception

**.**

**Only Human**

**III.**

"I'd really wish you'd consider staying where it's safe!"

"Save your breath, Donnie! I'm already down here, so deal with it!"

He groaned as he reached back for his bō. They began running in the direction of the alarms, the warning sounds getting louder and louder as they got closer. April ran as fast as she could knowing full well that Donnie wouldn't run off ahead of her even if she decided to do a light jog.

"What if Irma's still down here? She's never been this involved before!" April pointed out before they flew into the blaring alarms and were no longer able to hear each other.

"She'll be fine!" Came Donnie's short response. His T-phone rang, the tone hardly recognizable as the alarms entered their heads. He snatched it from his belt and answered quickly, "Leo, we're almost there!"

"The Kraang are here, Donnie! There's at least a hundred of them here and—," he broke off and Donnie was able to hear the sharp sound of a katana blade crashing with a metal robot, "And a lot of them headed straight toward your lab!"

"My lab!?" Donnie screamed but was only able to hear the low rumble his throat made. He knew he shouldn't be on the phone when they were less than a minute away from the fight. Without even bothering to hang up, he attached the phone back to his belt. Looking quickly over his shoulder to see that April wasn't far behind, he made a quick decision to speed up at the last moment to make a surprise entrance. As soon as he spotted the turnstiles, he sprinted to their location then brought his staff down to the cement floor. He used it as leverage and hurled himself right over the turnstiles, his foot coming in hard contact with an unsuspecting Kraang robot head. Twirling his bō around his head to get his momentum going, he jumped into the fight and was able to take down five Kraang robots at once.

"'Bout time you decided to join the fight, Don!" Raph yelled, his sais currently holding a gun that was aimed at the ceiling.

"I came as quick as I could!" he snapped back, his bō blocking an attack from behind him.

"They didn't even have the courtesy to act like pizza delivery guys when they got here!" Mikey yelled from a different corner of the lair, his nunchucks swinging at his sides effortlessly.

"Let it go, Mikey!" Raph argued, finally able to send the gun into the air to disarm the Kraang.

"Donnie!" Leo called from the living room where he stood in front of a destroyed TV, "Sensei's in your lab fighting off the Kraang that made a beeline to it! Do we have something they want?!"

The first thing he thought of was the retromutagen. But what would the Kraang want with that? Mutagen had no effect on them, so unless one of Shredder's guys somehow took control of—

But then he suddenly remembered: the nomarugen! Was it at all possible that they somehow discovered his top secret experiment? The secret he hadn't told a single soul!? Impossible!

_But if they know…_

If they've been trying to turn themselves human for ages and he single-handedly created something—or at least was close to discovering something—that could be useful to them—

"Guys!" All four turtles turned towards April's voice. She was backed into a corner standing in front of Irma who was crouched down in fear. April's tessen was out and ready, but there were at least ten Kraang ready to pounce on her at once.

"Don't you know it's not nice to hit girls!" Casey yelled as he skated over to the corner and began knocking out a couple Kraang at a time with his hockey stick.

"Really, Casey? You just _had _to use that line?!" April glared at the boy despite him helping her out. A momentary rage whirled within her as she tossed her tessen with all her strength into the head of one of her enemies.

"Well, I mean, it's not like you see any girl Kraang running around here!" Casey said in his defense.

"Dude, do you think they'd still have the same voice?" Mikey asked with genuine curiosity as he jumped from spot to spot to avoid bullets.

Out of the corner of her eyes, April saw Donnie run into his lab. She was sure that Sensei and Donnie could handle whatever amount of Kraang were in there, but they would still be highly outnumbered. There were four guys fighting in the main entrance, so she figured she could lend a hand in the lab.

But before she could make a run for it, a cold hand was wrapped around her neck and she was being lifted from the ground. In panic, she dropped her weapon as her hand clutched the strong robot hand, his fingers trying to pry between the hand and her neck.

Luckily, Raph's sai was in the circuitry of the Kraang before she could have any dooming thoughts.

"Saved by Raph again," April commented dryly but with a small grin to show her thanks.

"Hey, at least I don't expect anything in return!"

April shook her head before making another attempt to run toward the lab. The turtles and Casey were kicking some major Kraang butt and robot bodies littered the lair like a battle zone.

She jumped up the steps that led to her destination. She was just about to run into the lab when Donnie, suddenly and very unexpectedly, stepped in front of her and blocked her from entering.

She screamed involuntarily from surprise, "Donnie! Did they find what they were looking for?"

"No, but we need to get you out of here. It isn't safe for you." His voice was oddly dry and it struck an uncomfortable fear in her heart.

"What are you talking about? We've almost got—," she was cut off when Donnie picked her up and tossed her onto his shoulder. She gasped as he hands gripped the top lip of his shell even though she felt his arms wrap around her knees.

"Donnie, what are you doing?!" Leo yelled as he took down another Kraang.

"They want April; it was a trap!" Donnie called back. The air seemed to escape April as Donnie ran and jumped over the turnstiles and led her into the tunnels again where the alarms were still deafening.

"Couldn't you have at least turned the alarms off?!" April screamed as loud as she could but doubted Donnie could hear her. She looked up to follow the trail they were leaving behind and hoped the other guys were able to finish off the rest by themselves.

To her surprise, Donnie chose the first manhole exit to climb out of, despite it being near a fairly busy street. He knew that and warned her about it millions of times!

She had to admit, however, it was nice to get away from the deafening alarms. And it was a miracle that no one was around when they surfaced, yet still, Donnie made a beeline for the closest dark alley.

April was waiting for him to put her down, but when she waited a few seconds and nothing happened, she cleared her throat, "Uh…do you mind setting me down now?"

Without a word, he unwrapped his arm from her knees so she was able to slide down his plastron. Her hands slid from his shoulders and down his plastron as well, causing a blush to burn her face. Shyly, she looked up at him to see how he reacted to the moment, but to her surprise, he was looking blankly down the dark alley.

Quickly, she brought her hands to herself as she cleared her throat, "Now, do you want to tell me what that sudden escape was all about? I mean, we practically had all of them beat! A few more minutes and there would have been none left! Was it really necessary to—."

She stopped short when his eyes suddenly met hers. There was something different about them but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"I had to protect you. Isn't it my job to protect you?"

April narrowed her eyes, "That's a strange question, Donnie."

"It's what my mind wanted to do," he added before taking a step toward her.

"U-um…" Without truly considering it, she took a step back and felt the cool brick of a building against her. She watched with wide eyes as Donnie closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to hers. It was so unexpected that her mind couldn't process what was going on and it made her heart cry because despite wanting something like this to happen, the moment seemed completely off.

So against her confused judgment, she brought her hands up to his shoulders and pushed him back firmly, "Donnie…" she breathed heavily, "What…where did that come from…?"

_And why does he seem so calm right now…?_

"I protected you, so it seemed right."

April blinked several times. She realized her hands were becoming sweaty where they sat on his shoulders, so moved them to the back of his neck. It was then she felt something metallic that pricked her finger.

"Ow! Donnie, what's…" she grabbed ahold of the metal object and felt it unlatch from Donnie's skin. Instantly, Donnie blinked rapidly and April saw familiarity return to him. She looked at the thing between her fingers and saw that it was a small spider-like device.

Donnie's hand cradled his head as if he had a massive migraine.

"What the hell is this?!" April asked in panic, holding the device in front of Donnie's face.

Squinting, his eyes still full of confusion as he tried to piece together the last few moments, he took the device from April to get a better look at it, "It looks like the mind control device we found on your father before…"

April's eyes widened, "Oh God, that means—."

Before she could truly comprehend the danger they landed themselves in, a white van turned into the alley with at least six other vans parked on the street in front. Five Kraang exited the van with taser guns pointed right at them.

"Donnie, do something!" April yelled before a quick shock went through her and everything went black.

* * *

And then there was light. Bright, blinding light. It made her want to reclose her eyes and just go back to sleep. But she knew she couldn't. She had to fight back.

April moaned in discomfort as she tried to sit up. She was fairly surprised she wasn't strapped down to the white table she was laying on. She felt a prick on both of her arms when she tried to move, however, and saw that she had IVs in both her arms.

She was in all white again; the same outfit the Kraang put her in the last time she was captured. It creeped her out knowing that they undressed her and put her in these clothes when she was unconscious. Of course, they seemed to be asexual aliens and probably had no interest in taking notice to her body, but still…

Looking around the room, she was more surprised that there were no Kraang keeping an eye on her. She was literally all alone. And for some reason, this made her panic more. Everything was bright white save for the bags of blood they drained from her arms. But the blotches of red in contrast with all the white only flooded her with more anxiety.

And more importantly…where was Donnie? Did he manage to escape?

With a weak hand, she slowly reached toward one IV and, holding her breath, she yanked the needle out of her arm. She hissed in pain, knowing full well that she was going to have very visible bruising. Trying not to dwell on it, she yanked the other needle out as well. She had to force her legs off the table as they didn't seem to want to move on their own.

April looked down at her legs dangling over the side. She knew her legs wouldn't be able to support her yet. But she couldn't just sit there!

She pounded her fists onto her thighs and was glad she was at least able to feel the pressure. Biting her lip, she slid herself off the table and felt nothing but air as her legs collapsed beneath her.

"I wouldn't mind being saved right about now, Raph…" she mumbled in an attempt to encourage herself. She tried crawling by pulling herself with her arms, but the dull ache from the needles prevented her from doing it.

"Ugh…" she laid her head down on the cold floor to try to come up with a plan. She heard a low humming coming from beneath her. It sounded like some sort of engine. Were they even still on Earth?

The thought of not being on Earth anymore unnerved her enough to find the strength to lift herself from the floor. Her whole body felt unstable but she would have to make do. She had to find Donnie. And if he wasn't on the Kraang ship somewhere, she had to find out how to get in touch with him. If she couldn't…the Kraang may have successfully won in getting what they were after.

o

o

o

o

o

Okay, first off, I want to apologize for the very long delay! I moved from Michigan to Texas last month so there was a lot going on. I had to get used to my new schedule and whatnot...but I've been thinking about this story nonstop and knew I had to find the time to write. I was suffering from writer's block a bit, but...I went to go see the TMNT movie (twice) and it was able to help me overcome some of what was blocking me, I think. Though, to be honest, the movie gave me more inspiration for my other TMNT story, "Renaissance." I created that story back in June as well, but when the movie talked about Project Renaissance, I coudn't help but see some similarities and wanted to make it more than just a oneshot.

Anyway, I'll try to have chapter 4 up a lot quicker than this one took! As always, thank you all for the encouraging reviews!

_-Enula_


End file.
